. 



COLLEGE 
STORIES 




DR. HENRY P. TAPPAN, 
FORMER PRES. OF U. OF M. 



1852-63. 



PROF. ANDREW D. WHITE, 

FORMER PRES. OF CORNELL. 
1857-67. 





PROF. GEORGE P. WILLIAMS, 

OF LIT. DEPARTMENT. 



PROF. ALEXANDER WINCHELL, 

OF LIT. DEPARTMENT. 



I84I-8I. 



I853-9O. 



STORIES 



AMUSING INCIDENTS 






The Early History 

OF THE 

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, 



U. of M. Stories of Ye Olden Time. Wit and Wisdom in the 

Early History of the U. of M. Fun and Frolic of 

the Old Boys during the War Times. 



ANN ARBOR, MICH 
Register Publishing Co., 

.895. A^Wft»r. 



: (1 10c -act f 







Copyright, 1895 
By NOAH W. CHEEVER. 



PREFACE. 



I have compiled these stories and incidents 
of the early history of the University of Michigan, 
because they should be preserved, and with the 
hope that valuable additions may, in the future, 
be added to the small number here presented. 
Not that they are important historical events, or 
present conditions that are worthy of imitation; 
but they are facts connected with our immature 
early history, that may, in a measure, serve as 
mile stones, to mark and indicate the extent and 
rapidity of our progress. We sincerely hope and 
believe that this narration will not at all tend to 
revive these old and worn out customs. We are 
pleased to note that the University has outgrown 
nearly everything of this nature, and let our motto 
ever be "Nulla Vestigia Retrorsutn." 

Read these old stories as pleasant remem- 
brances of the past, laugh at the wit, enjoy the fun, 
then gently lay them aside as an old and worn out 
garment, now only useful to recallold associations, 
and remind us of the kind hearts and generous 
souls of the Old Boys of Ye Olden Times. 

Noah W. Cheever. 

Ann Arbor, February i, 1895. 



STORIES 

AND 

AMUSING INCIDENTS 

IN THE EARLY HISTORY 

OF THE 

UNIVERSITY of MICHIGAN. 



DR. GEORGE P. WILLIAMS. 

Dr. George Palmer Williams was professor 
of mathematics in the literary department of 
the University, for a long period before the 
Civil War, and for some time afterwards. He 
had full charge of that department at the time 
the events occurred that I am about to relate. 
To understand these college stories it will be 
necessary to know a little something about Dr. 
Williams. Dr. Williams, at this time, was at 
middle life, or a little past; was of medium 
height, straight, square shouldered, somewhat 
portly, with a large head and a heart much 



6 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

larger than his head. He was always neatly 
dressed, but he always wore a smile that would 
amply cover any defects of personal attire. 
His extreme good nature and affability seemed 
to be always present. I believe that if the 
good Doctor had been routed out of bed in 
the middle of the night, he would have greeted 
the interpolator with a smile. He always 
entered a room, whether it was a drawing 
room or his class room, with a benignant smile 
that melted everybody and made everybody, 
even the frightened freshmen, feel entirely at 
his ease and at home. While Dr. Williams 
was not a noted taskmaster, he was a scholar 
of broad attainments and a most excellent 
instructor, for those who could be led to do 
their duty by extreme indulgence and good 
nature. We had in those days entrance ex- 
aminations for all the freshman classes. The 
Doctor had a plan of placing three mathemat- 
ical propositions upon his black-board, begin- 
ning at the left, with one that was very easy; 
the next one quite difficult, and the last one so 
difficult that no freshman was ever known to 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 



solve it. A student thus relates his experience 
with Dr. Williams, at one of these entrance 
examinations. 

I entered his room as a freshman, with 
great confidence, because I had been over 
most of the freshman mathematics in a pre- 
paratory school. The Doctor detected this 
confidence at once. He said very pleasantly 

and blandly, "Now, Mr. , be kind enough to 

solve the problem at the left." I solved it in 
no time at all. The Doctor looked up ap- 
parently astonished and smiled, ' ' Well, now, 
since you have done that so readily, please 
try the next one." I tried it for about an 
hour, and at last reached the solution. The 
Doctor was evidently pleased and blandly 
remarked, ' ' You have done so well with these 
two, you may try the one on the right." I 
tried for about an hour and gave it up as a 
bad job. I told the Doctor I could not solve 
that problem. He replied, "Well, it is no 
matter at all. Really, I did not expect that 
you would. Your preparation must have been 
very good indeed to have gone as far as you 



8 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

did. " I left the room with my feathers a good 
deal more down than when I entered it, and 
always afterwards entered the Doctor's room 
with a much higher appreciation of him, and 
a good deal lower estimate of myself. 

At the close of the first semester at our ex- 
amination, there was an unfortunate student 
who was wholly incapable of mastering math- 
ematics. He was a fine student in other 
branches, but a very poor scholar in this. The 
class understood the situation, and so did Dr. 
Williams. A classmate had finished his prop- 
osition on the board and had explained it, and 
was sitting on one of the front seats, in full 
view of the Doctor. This unfortunate student 
had tried to solve his problem but could not, 
and came and sat down back of his friend and 
commenced to cry. His friend could not en- 
dure this, of course, and turned around and 
asked him to hand him his proposition, which 
he did. He then figured out the proposition 
fully in detail upon a piece of paper, and 
handed it back to him. The unfortunate one 
took the paper and copied it on the black- 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 9 

board. The Doctor asked him to explain it. 
The student read over what he had put on the 
board. When he had finished the Doctor 
remarked, "That will do, Mr.—, that was 
very well indeed," and the student sat down 
happy. The Doctor then turned and smiled, 
looked off to the other corner of the room, 
and said, "Well, my young friends, I am a 
great admirer of disinterested benevolence in 
all of its phases upon all proper occasions, but 
in this place and on this particular occasion 
I really would much prefer to have each tub 
stand upon its own bottom." The Doctor 
never made any allusion to the matter after- 
wards, and passed the young gentleman in the 
regular order. 

The class of '61 was a rather noted class 
of men, large, physically and mentally. They 
were mature fellows most of them, well towards 
30 years of age, and some of them older. I 
don't think there was a modern snob in the 
class. They were in the University for hard 
work and for genuine improvement, and did 
not at all affect the modern accomplishments. 



IO STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

During the old times when the class of '61 
was in the University, the recitation rooms 
were warmed by large box stoves, that would 
take in cord wood. One cold winter morning 
the class of '61 assembled in Dr. Williams' 
room for a recitation in mathematics. The 
Doctor called the roll, and they were all pres- 
ent, as classes usually were at the Doctor's reci- 
tations. Everybody knew that he was in no 
danger there. The genial smile of the Doc- 
tor was worth coming to see, and if the stu- 
dent failed utterly he would not be scolded, 
and if he did fairly well, he would receive 
earnest commendations. The atmosphere of 
the whole room was restful, and the students 
flocked there because they loved the Doctor, 
and had nothing to fear. They were also 
anticipating some good things by the way of 
sharp sallies of wit from the Doctor, which 
were always of weekly and sometimes daily 
occurrence. The boys would not miss one of 
these for a fortune, and many a poor fellow 
has studied hard late at night, to master the 
hard mathematics, that he might win a smile 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. II 

from good Dr. Williams at the next recita- 
tion. 

On this cold winter morning, after the 
Doctor had called the roll of '6i, and appeared 
extremely delighted that all of the big fellows 
were there, he started to assign the tasks for 
the recitation. 

"Mr. C. K. Adams will please take proposi- 
tion six; Mr. William H. Beadle proposition 
seven; Mr. B. M. Cutcheon the eighth propo- 
sition; W. W. Dedrick please take the ninth; 
C. H. Dennison the tenth, please; W. S. Perry 
the eleventh proposition; Hoyt Post the 
twelfth; Henry M. Utley the thirteenth/' and 
the Doctor looked up and smiled and seemed 
to be thinking a moment, and then remarked 
with much deliberation and a sort of puzzled 
expression, "and Mr. I. H. Elliot, you may, 
yes, you may, put some wood in the stove, if 
you please." 

The boys shouted, and it took some time 
to get the big fellows down to work. Elliot 
promptly filled the stove full of wood and sat 
down, well satisfied in the performance of this 



12 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

duty, which he says he felt that he was emi- 
nently qualified to perform. 

At this time Jolly was janitor, and among 
his duties was that of marking the students at 
chapel. The chapel was the center room of 
the north wing, and the seats were all num- 
bered at quite a generous distance apart. The 
senior class occupied the front seats; the jun- 
iors next, back of them; the sophomores next, 
and the freshmen in the rear. Before Dr. 
Tappan opened the exercises in the chapel, 
Jolly went down first one aisle and then the 
other, with book and pencil in hand, to mark 
any numbers that were not covered. The big 
fellows, who were broad enough to cover two 
numbers, were always at a premium as chums, 
because they would take care of their chum's 
number at chapel, and allow him to sleep later 
in the morning. Jolly understood the situa- 
tion, and it was amusing to see him coming 
down the aisle, his broad face beaming with 
smiles and exuberant good nature, and swing- 
ing his pencil a little to the right or a little to 
the left, to indicate to some student that he 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 1 3 

had not quite covered some number, and if he 
got his arm or his coat over it before Jolly 
got there, he never considered it his duty to 
disturb the condition of things, and passed on. 

One cold winter morning, Jolly discovered 
a donkey in Dr. Williams' room. He did not 
know just what to do about the matter, but 
finally decided to go over and tell Dr. Williams. 
Dr. Williams then lived in one of the dwelling 
houses on the north side of the campus.. It 
was rather early, but Jolly found the Doctor 
up. Jolly came into the parlor very much out 
of breath, and proceeded at once to inform the 
Doctor of the condition of things. 

He said, "Why Dr. Williams, Dr. Wil- 
liams! there is— there is— there is a donkey in 
your room! 

" Only one," replied the Doctor. 

Jolly finding that the Doctor was not much 
disturbed over the occurrence, went back and 
removed the offending member of the sopho- 
more class. 

I think it was the class of '62, that thought it 
would be a nice thing to play a trick upon Dr. 



14 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

Williams. There was a rather aged, but very 
long-eared donkey, kept in a pasture about a 
quarter of a mile south of the University campus. 
He was a sleek, well-cared for donkey, and 
very mild, and amiable in his disposition, and 
not at all liable to strike out with his hind feet, 
as is characteristic of many of the tribe, and 
some of his modern imitators in the now fam- 
ous foot ball teams. The boys were careful 
to ascertain about the disposition of the ani- 
mal, before they attempted any tricks with 
him. In some way they managed to get him 
up into Dr. Williams' room, which was then in 
the upper story at the north end of the south 
wing. They tied him securely behind the 
Doctor's desk, and generously put a large bun- 
dle of hay on top of the desk, for him to eat 
during the night. 

It is, perhaps, needless to remark, that this 
was the sophomore class. This class assem- 
bled as usual in the morning, entered the room, 
sat down and were apparently hard at work, 
looking over their lessons. 

The Doctor laborously climbed the stairs, 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 1 5 

and was somewhat out of breath when he 
reached his room. The Doctor was a very 
deliberate man, he never hurried about any 
thing. He took off his hat as he reached the 
door, smiled at the young gentlemen, looked 
blandly around the room, then deliberately sur- 
veyed the desk and the donkey, and with equal 
deliberation remarked, "Well, young gentle- 
men, I am extremely delighted this morning 
to see that you have chosen one of your own 
number to preside, and consequently do not 
need me. You may take the next fourteen 
propositions in Geometry for to-morrow," and 
he turned with a smile and said, "Good morn- 
ing," and went down the stairway. 

The boys slowly filed out of the room, very 
much sorrowing over the prospect, for they 
knew that it would require several hours hard 
work to get the donkey on to terra firma, and 
then they would have to work all night to get 
their lessons for the morrow. They knew the 
Doctor well enough to know, that he would 
require every one of those propositions to be 
solved by every member of the class. 



1 6 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

Daring our freshman year, we thought we 
would play a trick on Dr. Williams. We 
found a large, green, warty toad on the cam- 
pus, put it into a basket, and just before 
recitation, carried it into Dr. Williams' room. 
We made a pen of the books on top of his 
desk, put the toad into it, and on top of 
the pen we placed the book, that he was to 
use that morning. Dr. Williams came into the 
room with his usual deliberation, smiled at the 
class, took off his hat and coat and hung them 
up in the usual place, carefully wiped his spec- 
tacles and sat down. He had seen the pen of 
books when he first entered, and knew that 
there was something there in store for him. 
After he had arranged everthing to his satis- 
faction, he quietly reached up, took the book 
from the top of the pen, peered in, smiled 
broadly and remarked, "Ho, ho! why, here is 
another freshman." 

We shouted and stamped and cheered, of 
course, and shouted and stamped again, until 
they could have heard us on the further side 
of the campus. Dr. Williams laughed heart- 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. I? 

ily. Finally when we had quieted down in 
some measure, he looked up at us rather quiz- 
zically, and again remarked, "Young gentle- 
men, there can't be a doubt about it, because 
he smells fresh and is green." Of course we 
made a greater turmoil at this last sally, and 
readily voted that the Doctor had come out 
ahead. 

There was not much of a recitation on that 
day, for the wit of the thing so struck the boys, 
that they would stand at the black-board, so 
shaking with laughter that it was impossible 
to properly solve the problems that the Doctor 
had assigned to them. The Doctor was gen- 
erous as usual, and helped each fellow out, so 
that we got through with the recitation, with- 
out serious difficulty. 

Old Dr. Williams, affectionately called 
"Punky" by all the boys, was stout and rug- 
ged, physically and mentally, and preserved 
his excellent health and his great good nature 
even to extreme old age, by observing the 
strict rules of temperance and morality, and 
by loving his neighbors as himself. He had 



1 8 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

a heart larger than his head, and he would 
always smile; indeed he never did anything 
else. We loved our parents, our sisters, and 
some other fellow's sister and Dr. Williams, 
and we think the doctor always retained the 
larger portion. 

The boys invariably called Dr. Williams 
"Punky." How the pet named ever came to 
be applied to him, no one seems to know. If 
the boys had referred to him as Dr. Williams, 
they would not have been understood. 

An unsophisticated freshman approached a 
body of sophomores and asked where the room 
of the professor of mathematics was. 

"Oh, you want to find Punky, " they re- 
plied. 

The freshman said, "Is that his name?" 

They said, "Certainly, that is his name." 

The freshman without suspecting a joke 
walked into the room, approached Dr. Wil- 
liams' desk, and innocently inquired, " Is this 
Prof. Punky?" 

Dr. Williams very blandly replied, < ' It is, 
my young friend, what can I do for you?" 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 19 

The freshman did his errand and received 
very gentlemanly replies from the Doctor. He 
never suspected that he had been put upon by 
the sophomores, until he went out and told them 
of the interview, when with very serious faces 
they gravely informed him, that he had in- 
sulted Dr. Williams. Then the poor boy went 
to his room, very much afraid the Doctor 
would take some revenge upon him for his im- 
pertinence, but he was earnestly assured by his 
chum, that the Doctor, never took revenge 
upon anybody, but at the same time advised 
him to see the Doctor, and explain matters. 
He did so the next day, and the Doctor very 
heartily forgave him, and told him that really 
he understood the whole matter at the time, 
and no harm had been done, but he had better 
be very careful hereafter, and not take all the 
advice that the sophomores gave him. 

I remember on one occasion, that the stu- 
dents of our class attempted to play a rather 
uncanny trick upon Dr. Williams. He always 
sat in a large wood-bottom chair, considerably 
hollowed out at the middle. Some ungracious 



20 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

scamp, bound to astonish the Doctor, and get 
even with his jokes, poured a glass or more of 
water in this hollow portion of the chair seat. 
The Doctor came in as usual, took off his hat 
and overcoat with his usual deliberation, sat 
down in the water, without saying a word, and 
gave not the slightest indication during the 
hour's recitation, that anything was wrong. 
He was as pleasant as usual, but the boys had 
to solve all the problems with perfect accu- 
racy, and he ground them hard during the en- 
tire recitation, and the next day gave them 
about double the usual number of problems. 
It is needless to say that the boys never re- 
peated the trick. 

Along about the time of the Civil War, 
Dr. Williams lived in one of the houses on the 
north side of the campus. They were pro- 
vided with large fire-places and chimneys, that 
did not seem to draw 7 very well, and kept the 
houses full of smoke. The Doctor reported 
the matter to the Board of Regents, and asked 
them if they didn't think they could remedy 
the smoking chimneys. 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 



A member of the Board replied, "Well 
Doctor, you are a scientific gentleman, and 
perhaps you can suggest a remedy yourself. 

"Well," said the Doctor smiling good 
naturedly, " I think perhaps I might. If you 
leave the matter wholly to me, I would suggest 
that as the smoke seems determined to go 
down, that you proceed to turn that chimney 
the other end up." 

The Board roared with laughter and imme- 
diately sent over a mechanic to remedy the 
difficulty. 

The old Doctor has gone to his reward and 
Shakespeare's words properly apply to him, 
and his generous ennobling and uplifting char- 
acter and life: 

"And this our life exempt from public haunt, 
Finds tongues in trees; books in running brooks; 
Sermons in stones, and good in everything." 

— "A s You Like It" Act Eleven, Sec. i. 

Thompson, in his Seasons, utters thoughts 
appropriate to him: 

"The glad circle 'round them yield their souls 
To festive mirth, and wit that knows no gall." 



22 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

More's lines on Sheridan are also appro- 
priate: 

"Whose wit in the combat, as gentle as bright, 
Ne'er carried a heart stain away on its blade." 

If Dr. Williams has as exalted a position 
in the next world as he always had in the 
minds and hearts of his pupils, he is now very 
near to the Master. 



PROF. ANDREW D. WHITE. 

Prof. Andrew D. White, afterwards presi- 
dent of Cornell University, was professor of 
History in the University of Michigan from 
about 1857 to 1867. Prof. White had at- 
tended several of the eastern universities, had 
travelled extensively in Europe mostly on foot, 
and was a zealous and thorough student of his- 
tory. He came to Ann Arbor about 1857. 
At that time the students who came here were 
well advanced in years, on account of the 
meager opportunities in the preparatory 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. ^3 

schools through this and other states, and the 
want of means on the part of the people to 
commence the education of their children 
early in life. The students on entering were 
frequently twenty-five years of age, and some 
times older. Those who kept boarders and 
roomers in Ann Arbor, were not accustomed to 
welcome beardless youths to the university. 

Prof. White was rather under medium 
height, and dressed in the youthful fashion of 
eastern universities. When he landed in Ann 
Arbor, he started out on foot as usual, to find 
the Campus. When he reached State street 
near the high school, he stopped at what ap- 
peared to be a boarding house, and inquired 
the way. The landlady invited him into the 
parlor, and had quite a chat with the genial 
professor. He inquired the way to the univer- 
sity, and she gave him the proper directions. 

As he rose to go she remarked, i ' I suppose, 
sir, that you are expecting to enter the fresh- 
man class ? " 

The professor smiled very blandly and re- 
plied, "I hardly think that I shall." 



24 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

' ' Well," the lady responded, "you might 
enter upon condition, a good many of them do 
you know." 

Prof. White hardly knew what response to 
make to this; thanked the lady very kindly for 
her information, and departed to hunt up the 
youthful giant and Dr. Tappan. 

In the class-room Prof. White was very 
enthusiastic and energetic in his work; firm in 
his requirements, but very broad minded, and 
catholic in his views upon history, and other 
public matters. 

In connection with the recitations in his- 
tory, he had us indulge in debates upon ques- 
tions suggested by himself. A circus came to 
town in the spring of '61, and Prof. White 
suggested the circus as the topic for discussion. 
Those who condemned the circus were very 
enthusiastic, and those who were assigned to 
defend it, really could find but little to say in 
its favor. 

Prof. White, as usual, wound up the dis- 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 25 

cussion with some remarks. He said, "I see, 
young gentlemen, that you have pretty thor- 
oughly annihilated the circus; but it will come 
here this spring and probably every year in 
the future. I freely admit that the circus, as 
now conducted, has many objectionable fea- 
tures that ought to be removed; but what are 
you going to do about it ? you certainly don't 
expect to annihilate the institution. If you are 
satisfied that you cannot do this, then the next 
best thing to do is to use all endeavors possible, 
to get rid of the objectionable features of the 
exhibition. It calls out a large class of peo- 
ple, at least once a year, and gives them some- 
thing new to think* about, and perhaps in some 
ways is really a benefit to them. It wakes up 
the social side of their natures, and prevents 
them from going to sleep utterly. I shall go 
to the circus tomorrow myself, and would be 
glad to see the class there." 

We went down to the tent in the evening 
to see the performance, and there found Prof. 
White surrounded by 25 or 30 boys, who were 
unable to pay their way in, and he bought 



26 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF. THE 

tickets for the entire company, seated himself 
inside of the tent near the boys, and had a 
thoroughly good time. 

At one of his written examinations in his- 
tory, he had arranged the seats, so that he 
could see every student during the examina- 
tion. One of the students asked his neighbor 
to read some of the questions that Prof. White 
had written out for them to answer. 

Prof. White looked off to the other corner 
of the room and remarked, "I hope that each 
student to-day will get around the course alone, 
and not attempt any feats of small horseman- 
ship." 

Student number two immediately respond- 
ed, "Excuse me, Professor, I was simply 
attempting to decipher some of your hiero- 
glyphics for my friend on the left. " 

"Oh," said Prof. White, "that is per- 
fectly proper, but I am afraid you have at- 
tempted an impossible task. The young 
gentleman had better come to me." 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 27 

Prof. Andrew D. White was in most 
respects a model teacher. He did not meas- 
ure the length of his lessons by his own ability, 
but rather by that of the medium students 
under his charge. Prof. White did not en- 
deavor to gratif) 7 his own ambition and build 
up his reputation, at the expense of the physi- 
cal and mental health and welfare of his 
pupils. He was honest with his colleagues in 
the Faculty, and never attempted to trespass 
upon the time of the students, that belonged to 
them. These all too uncommon virtues have 
caused the old boys to remember him, with a 
respect and gratitude that time cannot efface. 
He was an industrious and thorough scholar; 
accurate in his habits of thought; well informed 
in regard to all subjects connected with his- 
tory. He had been over Europe much on foot, 
and was familiar with the people, and the 
scenes where many historical events occurred, 
and could give many interesting incidents not 
usually narrated by historians. He was invar- 
iably good natured, patient, and ready to 
recognize the good and worthy in everything. 



28 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

He cared much more for the ability to think 
out and express original thoughts, in an original 
way, than a lame imitation of the fine style 
of others, or the copying of their thoughts or 
forms of expression. 

He always commended genuine originality, 
no matter if imperfectly expressed. He was 
possessed of strong common sense, and an 
unusual appreciation of practical affairs, and 
practical matters in relation to human society. 
He strove to prepare the students to live well 
in the world as it is, and learn the means of 
making it a little better, rather than to soar 
too high in the realms of idealism. Every stu- 
dent under him soon learned to love and 
admire the man, and most of them became 
enthusiasts in the study of history. He was 
among the first in our University to bring into 
prominence the importance of physical culture, 
and the great necessity of good health and 
strong physical powers among students and 
professional men. He was not strong himself, 
but by the rigid observance of all laws of 
health, and the persistent adherence to his habit 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 29 

of long daily walks in the open air, he main- 
tained good health and great powers of endur- 
ance, during his connection with the Univer- 
sity. I think it may be truthfully said that he 
was among the first in our University, by pre- 
cept and example, to lead young men to think 
for themselves; to stand on their own feet, to 
develop and make the most of their own pow- 
ers, and never give up their self-reliance and 
individual independence. Most men strive to 
make money; Prof. White strove to make men, 
and his methods were admirably adapted to 
carry out this noble purpose. 



THE BOYS OF '61. 

The boys of '6i did not wear corsets or 
bangs, or part their hair in the middle. They 
did not wear their underclothing on the out- 
side, and had no use for skirt-coats with femi- 
nine attachments, or skull caps. Indeed, you 
could tell a boy when you met him on the 
streets, without the aid of a spy-glass or a tel- 



30 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

escope. They had a very earnest conviction 
that dudes are useless in the great battles for 
National existence, as well as in the great bat- 
tles of life. 

The boys of the war period used to write 
letters not always to their chums. There were 
some funny superscriptions, or directions on 
these letters, which I will give. The follow- 
ing is one: 

"To Dr. Shannon, New York State, 
And town of Bristol this letter goes, 
I give him warning, as sure as fate: 
If he don't reply, I'll tweak his nose." 

Here is another: 

" Please take this quick, kind Uncle Sam, 
Up to the State of Michigan, 
Look up Ann Arbor's blooming son, 
Frank C. Loomis, Lock Box One. 
Now, Uncle, see how fast you'll tramp, 
And for your trouble, here's your stamp. 

The following was upon a drop-letter, sent 
by a student who had got into that mellifluous 
state that sometimes precedes matrimony: 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 3 1 

" Take this package, Postmaster, sweet, 
To 344 West Washington Street, 
Deliver it there, to my darling girl, 
The brightest gem, and purest pearl, 
Assure her that my love endures, 
And I will ever be, Truly yours." 

Here is another: 

' Uncle Sam, bear this note with all the speed that you can, 
To the State in the West that is called Michigan, 
To a town that is teeming with all kinds of lore, 
Where Doctors are made by the gross or the score, 
Engineers are turned out, and lawyers to boot, 
In sizes assorted at prices to suit, 
But for fear you will think me verbose as a barber, 
To be brief — the name of the town is Ann Arbor, 
And this letter belongs to one Clarence L. Davis. 
If you don't chance to know who this cheeky young knave is, 
Just look for a youngster who came from the South, 
And lugs a tremendous big pipe in his mouth, 
Tips his hat in a ' don't care a hang ' sort of way, 
And seldom, if ever, has — ' Nothing to say.' ' 



FRENCH PROFESSOR. 

It was related of the professor of French, I 
never could ascertain which one, however, 
that he happened to come into chapel and 



32 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

take a seat on the platform when the presi- 
dent was absent. As no other member of the 
Faculty appeared, he felt it incumbent upon 
himself to conduct the services as far as he 
could. He gravely read a chapter from the 
Bible, and then as gravely remarked: M You 
will please excuse any further services, young 
gentlemen, because I am an in-fiddle, and the 
man that brays is not here." 

In 1 86 1 the class of 1863 found a cord of 
wood on the west side of the south wing. 
They immediately piled that cord of wood in 
the hallway and on the stairs leading up to the 
recitation rooms. Dr. Tappan came along, 
made no remark whatever, picked up two or 
three sticks of the cord wood, carried it back 
where it had been piled. In about three min- 
utes the wood had been carried out by the 
class, and piled up nicely where they had found 
it. The Doctor looked on gravely, and when 
they had finished the job smiled and remarked: 
"That is very well done, young gentlemen, 
particularly the last part of the job. Now, 
young gentlemen, I hope you will never indulge 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 33 

in that kind of sport again, because Professor 
Fasquelle has heart disease, and such an occur- 
rence might injure him." 

He quietly turned away, and went to his 
house. The classes in the University heard of 
the occurrence, and of the Doctor's remarks, 
and no disturbance of any kind was afterwards 
made anywhere in ear-shot of Prof. Fasquelle's 
room. 

When the old dormitory system prevailed 
at the University, the boys sometimes went 
out on an expedition for the purpose of steal- 
ing signs from the stores about town, and they 
would take these to their rooms and hide them 
in closets and under the beds. One of the 
shop-keepers guessing pretty well what had 
become of his sign, went to the professor in 
charge of the dormitory, and asked if he 
would not try and find his property for him. 
The students who had the signs in their rooms 
expected a visitation that evening, and were 
prepared for it. When they heard the profes- 
sor coming along the hall they immediately 



34 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

commenced their early evening devotions, and 
when the professor put his ear to the key-hole 
he heard the following: 

* ' A wicked and adulterous generation seek- 
eth after a sign, and there shall no sign be 
given unto it." 



DR. ALEXANDER WINCHELL. 

Dr. Alexander Winchell was professor 
of Geology, Botany, and kindred subjects, 
very early in the history of the University, and 
up to the time of his decease. The Doctor 
was a sober, earnest man, very eloquent in 
lecturing upon his subjects; a shrewd, sharp, 
witty scientist, but very absent minded. The 
boys of '63 in his class-room, got in the habit 
of cutting off the back buttons from the coats 
of those who. sat in front of them. The Doc- 
tor sent around his geological specimens, for 
the boys to examine, in a tray. The boys 
pinned some papers to a few of these buttons, 
marked on the papers " buttonia laciniata," 
placed them on the tray and sent it back to 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 35 

the professor. He took up one, looked at it 
and remarked: "I always admire the spirit of 
earnest investigation, and the desire for discov- 
ery, but I don't think much of these detached 
evidences of the purely trick-loving spirit of 
our remote ancestors." 

# -x- 

One day a student brought in a large quan- 
tity of skunk-cabbage. One one of the boys 
stole it out of his pocket, and ground it up on 
the floor with his foot, and the odor was all- 
pervading. The Doctor looked up, and glanced 
at the offender very earnestly, and remarked: 
" Well, young gentlemen, we are now studying 
Botany, not Zoology, and the young gentle- 
man who has that odoriferous specimen in his 
possession, can be excused at once." 

•X- -X- 

■x- 
One of the boys thought it would be nice 
to present the Doctor with a new specimen, so 
he very ingeniously, with the aid of mucilage 
and fine wire, stuck together the different parts 
of a half-dozen different bugs. He took the 



36 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

head of one, the wings of another, and so on. 
The specimen was really very nicely made up, 
and must have cost a good deal of time and 
labor in its construction. He put it in a small 
paper box, and just as the class was about 
to begin the recitation, marched up and handed 
it to the Doctor and asked him what kind of a 
bug he would call that. The Doctor looked at 
it intently for a moment, and quickly replied, 
"A humbug, sir." 



DR. V. C. VAUGHAN. 

Dr. V. C. Vaughan, of the medical de- 
partment, is credited with a number of very 
good stories. The Doctor usually spends his 
summer vacations up at Old Mission, above 
Traverse City, usually fishing with the noted 
fisherman, Evart H. Scott. 

While up there Scott had a birthday, and 
his wife prepared an elaborate dinner, inviting 
in all Scott's, friends, and among them Dr. 
Vaughan. After the dinner came the toasts. 
Dr. Vaughan in his response to his toast de- 
clared that he had had a vision the night be- 




PROF. JAMES V. CAMPBELL, 

OF LAW DEPARTMENT. 



PROF. VICTOR C. VAUGHAN, 

OF MED. DEPARTMENT. 



1859-85. 



1875-95. 




JOSEPH H. VANCE, ESQ., 

LIBRARIAN LAW DEPARTMENT. 



DR. G. NAGELE, 

JANITOR OF MED. DEPARTMENT. 



1854-95. 



I85I-95. 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 37 

fore, and in the dream, of course, thought he 
went over to the other world; rapped at the 
gate held by St. Peter, and St. Peter, of course, 
immediately opened it, let him in and gave him 
a very comfortable seat near the gate, that he 
might observe how matters were conducted in 
that region. 

The Doctor remarked that he had been 
sitting there but a short time, when a fellow 
rushed up to the gate, rapped vigorously and 
asked to be admitted. 

St. Peter cried, "Who is there?" 

The applicant replied, "William Jones." 

" Where are you from," said St. Peter, and 
Jones replied, "From Grand Rapids, Michi- 
gan." 

"What is your business," said St. Peter, 
and Jones replied at once, "I am a fisherman, 
sir." 

"Then, "said St. Peter, "you cannot come 
in, we don't allow any of that craft here; you 
can just go right down below." 

The Doctor said he waited awhile for a 
new arival. Pretty soon a new applicant 



38 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

rushed up, with ten times more zeal and 
haste than the other, and could not wait a 
moment. He rapped on the gate with both 
hands, and demanded of St. Peter that he be 
admitted at once. 

St. Peter responded with vigor, ''Who is 
there?" 

"It is me," said Scott. 

"Well, who is me," said St. Peter. 

"My name is Evart H. Scott," he replied. 

"Oh," said St. Peter, "where are you 
from, Mr. Scott?" 

"I am from Ann Arbor, Michigan," said 
Scott. 

"What is you business?" said St. Peter. 

"Why," said Scott, "I am a fisherman." 

"Oh," said St. Peter, and he opened the 
gate wide and said, ' ' come right in Mr. Scott, 
come right in." And he gave Scott a very 
comfortable seat near the gate. 

The doctor looked at St. Peter in astonish- 
ment and said, "Why St. Peter, how is this? 
You sent Jones below when he announced that 
he was a fisherman, and declared tha*t you 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 39 

would admit none of that craft here, and now 
here is Scott, who declares with a great deal 
of emphasis that he is a fisherman, and you 
admit him at once. Really now, St. Peter, 
how do you explain this? " 

" Oh, "said St. Peter, " as to Scott, why, 
he only thinks he is. " 

The Doctor on one occasion was lecturing 
upon the value of different foods. He said 
that in England old maids had much influence 
in promoting the vigorous health of the Eng- 
lish people, and proceeded to demonstrate it 
as follows: 

"Good beefsteak is very nutritious. Eng- 
lishmen have good beefsteak, because they 
have fine clover fields. The clover fields are 
luxuriant, because of the large number of bum- 
ble-bees there. Bumble-bees flourish in Eng- 
land, because they have so few mice. Mice 
are so scarce, because they have so may cats. 
They have so many cats because they have so 
many old maids." 



40 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

At this point in the story a dude raised his 
hand, and asked the Doctor what caused the 
old maids. 

The Doctor called upon a bright-eyed lady 
student to answer him, and she promptly re- 
plied, "The reason is that the women would 
rather support cats than shiftless husbands." 



x •& 
* 



On another occasion Doctor Vaughan was 
lecturing upon his favorite subject of tyrotoxi- 
con, sometimes found in ice-cream. A stu- 
dent raised his hand and put the following 
question to the Doctor: 

The student said they had a social in his 
town, at which ice-cream and oysters were 
served, and that quite a number of those 
who partook of these, were taken violently ill, 
and the student wished the Doctor's opinion as 
to whether it was the ice-cream or the oysters 
that produced the sickness. 

The Doctor looked up at him and said, 
' 'Well, sir, was it a church social ? " The 
student replied that it was. 



- UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 41 

4 'Then," said the Doctor, "it was cer- 
tainly not the oysters." 

■x- -x- 

■X- 

On another occasion the professor was talk- 
ing to one of the lady students before the 
lecture, and had to lean forward some distance, 
so that to the students in the amphitheatre 
above, the professor's head seemed to come 
quite near that of the lady student. One of 
the roguish boys gave a loud smack on the 
back of his hand. The boys shouted and 
stamped, and the professor ended the inter- 
view in short order, and refused afterwards to 
engage in a chat with the young ladies before 
the lecture. 



DR. NAGLEY. 

Dr. Nagley, so called, is the old janitor 
in the Medical Department. He has many 
peculiarities, the most striking is his dense 
ignorance and want of understanding, when 
any stranger goes nosing around the medical 
department, and another is that he seldom 



42 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

responds unless you call him ' ' Doctor. " The 
boys thought it a good joke to remove the 
tongue from the old bell, that he was wont ot 
ring for the purpose of calling them to lectures. 
Nagley took up the bell and did not notice the 
change at all, and started to swing it around 
with his usual vigor, but it did not ring. He 
turned it up, looked at it quizzically and re- 
marked, ' ' If the surgeon would only treat the 
boys as they have treated the bell, it would be 
a great deal more comfortable for everybody 
around this building." 



TURNIPSEED. 

A short time ago a student matriculated in 
the Literary Department, by the name of 
Turnipseed. He was quite an officious char- 
acter and made himself rather uncomfortably 
prominent on some occasions. Classes were 
so large that they were obliged to recite in 
sections. After a while it became necessary 
to change Turnipseed from section one to sec- 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 43 

tion two. The professor in section one had 
forgotten the change, and still had his name 
on his book. At the morning recitation as he 
called the roll, he called out the name, ' ' Mr. 
Turnipseed." One of the boys responded, 
"He has been transplanted." 



JUDGE JAMES V. CAMPBELL. 

Judge James V. Campbell, of the Law 
Department, was not in the habit of saying 
witty things during his lectures, but he used to 
tell us some funny stories of his experiences with 
members of the bar, during his long term upon 
the Supreme bench of our State. He told 
one in regard to the comments of Olney Haw- 
kins, a prominent member of the bar at Ann 
Arbor, upon the use by an opponent of the old 
Latin quotation, ' ' Falsus in uno, falsus in 
omnibus." When Hawkins replied, he said, 
repeating the quotation, "I don't understand 
very well what all that means, but I can guess 
at a part ©f it. I suppose he means to say 
that a fellow who will lie in a uno, will lie in 



44 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

an omnibus. Now I know that that is not 
true, for I have been riding in omnibuses all 
my life, and never knew any one to lie in an 
omnibus any more readily than anywhere else, 
except the driver, and he is on the outside." 






He told another one in regard to a rather 
noted Irish wit of the Detroit Bar, Billy Gray. 
Mr. Gray had brought a case to the Supreme 
Court, that didn't appear to contain any error 
whatever. Judge Campbell looked over the 
record with a great deal of care, and he could 
discover no error in it. When Mr. Gray arose 
to address the court, Judge Campbell said to 
him, ' ' Why, Mr. Gray, I don't understand 
why you have brought this case here. Myself 
and my brethren have looked through the 
record carefully, and we can find no error what- 
ever in it." "Well," replied Mr. Gray, in his 
Irish brogue, ' ' I must confess to your Honors 
that I have also studied this case with a very 
great deal of care, and must also frankly state 
that I myself could find no error whatever in it. 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 45 

But then, knowing the facility with which your 
Honors will find error where nobody else can, 
I have brought the case here with the utmost 
confidence." 

The following article published in one of 
our newspapers may be of some interest here: 

STIRRING EVENTS. 



AT THE OLD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AT ANN ARBOR 
DURING THE WAR. 



Wendell Phillips Protected by Students, Made a Great 
Speech. — Scenes and Incidents During Those Stormy 
Times. 



The old Congregational Church (now Zion 
Lutheran Church) at the corner of Fifth and 
Washington streets, is now being taken down 
to make room for a larger church building. 
This old church was the scene of some stirring 
events during the late civil war. 

In the winter of 1 860-1861, Parker Pills- 
bury came to Ann Arbor to address the people 



46 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

upon the abolition of African slavery. He ap_ 
pointed a meeting in the old Free Church on 
the east side of north State street, near the 
brow of the hill, now a dwelling house. A 
mob collected soon after the meeting com- 
menced, and broke in the door and windows 
with stones, drove Parker Pillsbury and his 
audience, mostly women, out of the rear win- 
dows, tore up the seats and gutted the build- 
ing. Parker Pillsbury had been in the south, 
knew that they were arming and drilling all 
over the south, and he came here to inform 
our citizens of this fact, and to urge them to 
arm and drill troops in defense of the govern- 
ment. 

After this meeting had been thus broken 
up, Parker Pillsbury met a few of our citizens 
at the house of Jacob Volland, and explained 
to them fully the war spirit in the south, but 
they treated it lightly and joked about it good 
naturedly, much more so than they did during 
the next exciting years of the war. It is hard- 
ly possible now to believe that in 1861, free 
speech was in such a precarious condition 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 47 

in Ann Arbor, and that a fellow citizen, who 
was actuated by great love of liberty and the 
loftiest patriotism, should be thus shamefully 
treated. 

About a month after this event, it was 
announced that Wendell Phillips would speak 
in Ann Arbor upon the abolition of African 
slavery. He had been rotten egged in Cin- 
cinnati and Chicago, and his meetings broken 
up. The mob again openly declared that 
Wendell Phillips should not speak in this 
city upon that subject. He tried to get per- 
mission to speak in the Court House, and 
it was refused; he tried to rent a public hall, 
but could not, because the owners feared that 
the halls would be greatly injured, if not de- 
stroyed. As a last resort he went to the trus- 
tees of the old Congregational Church on the 
corner of Fifth and Washington streets. These 
trustees held a meeting in the church to con- 
sider this important matter. They discussed 
the question long and earnestly, until finally 
one of the trustees arose in his place and 
said: "Brethren, this church building has been 



48 STORIES AND A*MUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

dedicated to Almighty God, and if it must be 
razed to the ground, let it go down in behalf 
of free speech, and the great cause of human 
liberty, I move that we allow Wendell Phillips 
to hold his meeting in this church." 

The vote was taken, and the motion was 
carried without a dissenting voice. The stu- 
dents of the University had heard of the mob- 
bing of Parker Pillsbury, and the threat to mob 
Wendell Phillips. The war spirit was aroused. 
The class of 1861, a large class then of big 
fellows, called a meeting of the students in the 
old chapel. We discussed the matter earnestly 
and long, and decided unanimously that Wen- 
dell Phillips and free speech must be protected. 
We arranged the following program: Each 
student was to provide himself with a stout 
hickory club four feet long, and anything else 
he chose to carry. Twelve of the big fellows 
of 1 86 1 were to stand in front of the church 
door, and twelve or more strong men in the 
vestibule. The remainder of the students were 
arranged in the church about four seats apart 
and four or more together. All of them car- 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 49 

ried clubs under their coats and many had 
other weapons. Long before the time of the 
meeting the church was literally packed. 
The gallery and pews were full, the windows 
were full, men sat upon the pulpit stairs and 
covered the pulpit platform, the aisles were 
packed with men standing; indeed, you could 
hardly have crowded another person into the 
building. The vestibule was jammed with ex- 
cited men, eager to see and hear, and a howl- 
ing mob filled the church yard around the 
church. It would be impossible to give an 
adequate idea of the excitement and tension of 
that audience. That many would be seriously 
injured if not killed, was expected. Finally 
there was a little unusual stir at the door, and 
we all looked around at the east aisle, to see 
Wendell Phillips come in. We naturally ex- 
pected to see a small, wiry, excitable man. 
When Wendell Phillips entered the crowded 
aisle, and commenced quietly to work his way 
toward the pulpit, we were indeed surprised. 
We saw a man over six feet in height, with 
broad, square, massive shoulders, a large head 



50 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

and a calm, grand face. He smiled pleasantly 
as he slowly and quietly worked his way 
through the dense mass of humanity, packed 
into the aisles of the old church. He was in 
no hurry, not excited in the least, was ap- 
parently the most unconcerned man in that 
assembly. Wendell Phillips finally reached 
the pulpit, took off his overcoat, was introduc- 
ed by the chairman of the meeting and began 
his speech. The mob howled outside, but the 
fine voice of the speaker could be distinctly 
heard, in every corner of the church above the 
uproar. In the midst of his speech, when the 
burning, blistering stream of sarcasm and in- 
vective, were poured upon that audience like 
the overflow from a volcano, some one in the 
center of the church, who could stand it no 
longer, hissed. The boys rose up all around 
the hiss, but could not tell who uttered it. 
They stood there waiting to discover the trans- 
gressor, when Wendell Phillips leaned for- 
ward as far as he could, repeated his obnox- 
ious statement at least six times, with ever 
increasing vehemence and vigor, but he could 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 5 1 

not induce the victim to repeat the offense. 
There was not another hiss during the meeting, 
no rotten eggs were thrown, and for two hours 
we listened to a storm of logic, sarcasm and 
invective, such as I never heard before and 
never expect to hear again. Wendell Phillips 
spoke for the most part in a conversational 
tone, made but few gestures; but such an occa- 
sion and such a man will not probably be 
brought together again in this generation. The 
audience and the speaker were wrought up to 
the very highest pitch, and the pent up flood 
of indignation and wrath at the untold wrongs 
and sufferings of the slaves of the south, and 
the cowardice of the nation that tolerated it, 
was poured over that audience by the bravest 
man, and one of the greatest orators this nation 
has produced. The mob outside finally became 
quiet, and the meeting was one of the most 
orderly that I ever attended. Public opinion 
was aroused and united among all the best 
citizens, and declared with no uncertain voice 
that free speech must and should be protected, 
and the mob spirit gave way as it always will. 



52 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

It settled the question of free speech in Ann 
Arbor, and there has been no serious disturb- 
ance of public meetings since that time. A 
majority of the students left that church, con- 
firmed and determined abolitionists, and many 
of them entered the army. It is curious also 
to note that a majority of this howling mob, 
within a year from the date of this meeting, 
had enlisted in the Union Army, and gave their 
lives to destroy African slavery, and preserve 
the government. They were abolitionists at 
heart all the time, but were held back by poli- 
tical party affiliations, and their fear that an 
open contest would lead to the destruction of 
the government. We supposed that there 
were only a few hundred abolitionists in Mich- 
igan, but we soon found that three-fourths of 
the people were abolitionists, ready to lay down 
their lives in support of their convictions. 
From this we may take courage in the belief 
that a large majority of our people, are at least 
in favor of other great and necessary reforms 
and will be found on the right side, when the 
issue is fully and fairly presented. This old 




U. of M. I860. 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 53 

church has stoad long and has done a quiet 
but invaluable work for civil and religious 
liberty, and the general welfare of this com- 
munity, and as its walls go down let us hope 
that its new and larger successor, will do a 
larger work in the elevation and progress of 

the race. 

Respectfully, 

N. W. Cheever. 



DR. HENRY P. TAPPAN. 

The following stories are told in regard to 
Dr. Henry P. Tappan, chancellor of the uni- 
versity, during the time of the Civil War. Dr. 
Tappan was a tall, portly, square shouldered 
man, possessed of unusual dignity, and his self 
possession never seemed to desert him, but 
always genial, affable and accommodating to 
the students under his charge, and sometimes 
like Dr. Williams, very apt and witty. In 
i860, when your narrator was a freshman, it 



54 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

was the habit of the janitors of the university 
in the Spring of the year, to cut the grass on 
the campus and pile it up in hay cocks. The 
boys thought it would be a good joke, so one 
night they put about a load of hay into the 
rear end of the chapel. They all assembled 
the next morning, but the hay had taken up 
the space usually assigned to freshmen, and 
they had to occupy the rear side seats, and 
stood in the aisles. Everybody was seated and 
very quiet, when the Doctor entered the chapel. 
Of course, the Doctor saw the hay instantly, 
and took in the situation at once. He deliber- 
ately ascended the platform, removed his 
overcoat, wiped his gold bowed glasses which 
he always wore, opened the Bible with his 
usual deliberation, read his chapter and gave a 
very earnest prayer. There was nothing to 
indicate thus far that the Doctor had seen any- 
thing unusual in the condition of things in the 
chapel. When he had finished the morning 
announcements, he looked over towards the 
rear end of the chapel, smiled slightly and re- 
marked, l ' I was not aware until this morning, 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 55 

that the two lower classes, who usually sit in 
the rear, boarded in the chapel." Of course 
this produced a shout of merriment and very 
loud applause, which continued for several min- 
utes. When matters had quieted down some- 
what, the Doctor continued his remarks with 
great deliberation and said, "I was aware that 
the classes in the rear were quite large, but I 
did not suppose that they needed such gener- 
ous rations. But perhaps the explanation of 
it is, that they are laying up a store for future 
emergencies, for you all know that it some- 
times happens that quite a number at the end 
of the year, are turned out to grass. " 

On another occasion some thoughtless soph- 
omores put a pig in the chapel and shut the 
doors. When the boys came they were very 
careful to see to it, that the pig remained in 
the chapel. To accomplish this end, they ap- 
pointed outside and inside doorkeepers for the 
front dpors, and locked the doors in the rear. 
When a student approached or a body of stu- 



56 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

dents entered the chapel, they were agreeably 
informed, that only one could enter at a time, 
and then only when the inside doorkeeper in- 
dicated that the coast was clear. Finally all 
the students were in the chapel, seated in their 
usual places and very quiet. The pig by this 
time had become tired, with the hustling he 
had received to keep him from rushing out of 
the doors, and was quietly resting on his 
haunches near the west front door. The Doc- 
tor entered at the east front door as usual. 
The extreme quiet of the chapel indicated very 
plainly to the Doctor, that something very un- 
usual was going on. He looked around to find 
out what the something was, and saw the pig 
winking and blinking at him, very much sur- 
prised at the situation. The Doctor put on 
his spectacles with his usual deliberation, looked 
down at the pig and remarked, ' ' This sopho- 
more has not yet presented to me his creden- 
tials. He ought to be modest enough not to 
enter the chapel until he is duly installed as a 
member of the university. Now, if some mem- 
ber of the sophomore class will kindly open the 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 57 

door, I think their friend will depart in peace." 
At this point Jolly appeared to mark the stu- 
dents as usual at chapel, and let the innovator 
out. After the pig had departed, the Doctor 
turned to the students and remarked, ' ' I have 
been wondering somewhat how that pig got 
into the chapel. I am inclined to think that 
in all probability, two friendly members of the 
second class from the rear, went out upon the 
campus, got down on their hands and knees on 
each side of the friendly pig, and he, thinking 
that he was in congenial company and among 
his kind, came right along with them into the 
chapeL" Of course the sophomores did not 
bring any more pigs into the chapel. 

■X- -X- 

Dr. Tappan had not a very exalted idea of 
the beauty of the old law building and the stu- 
dents very well understood this fact. On the 
final examination in philosophy, he asked a 
student to give an example of the beautiful, 
which he did. He then asked him to give an 
illustration of the opposite; the stiadent promptly 



58 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

replied, "The law building. " The Doctor re- 
sponded at once, ' ' That is sufficient, you can 

be excused." 

•x- -x- 
-x- 

In those exciting times tiefore and during 
the war, the students were called to chapel 
and to recitations by an old bell, something 
like a farmer's dinner bell, hung upon a post 
just east of the north wing. It had been 
through many vicissitudes, and although not 
provided with legs, had traveled many weary 
miles. Sometime in the fifties, upon a cold 
night in December, some students had turned 
it bottom upward, filled it with water, and 
held it there till the water had frozen. In 
doing this trick their hands were rather badly 
frost bitten, but that was a matter of not ser- 
ious importance. But before morning by the 
expansion of the ice, the old bell was slightly 
cracked and gave forth rather discordant 

sounds. 

■x- -x- 

•X- 

The boys of '61 thought that the old bell 
was not remarkably musical, and often dis- 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 59 

turbed their late slumbers in the morning. So 
one night they took it off of the post, and car- 
ried it a mile or two into the woods and hid it. 
The next morning Jolly came up to the post to 
ring for chapel as usual; found nothing but the 
naked post there. Dr. Tappan came promptly 
on time, and the chapel was unusually full. 
The Doctor went through with the usual morn- 
ing services. When he had finished, he looked 
over at the boys benignantly and said, ' ' We 
have kept the old bell out on the post here and 
employed Jolly to ring it for chapel and recita- 
tions, entirely for your benefit and convenience. 
The members of the Faculty all have clocks 
and watches, and they can readily be on time 
to all their duties. We thought that some, of 
the students might not be provided with these, 
so we furnished the bell. It seems that some 
one with wisdom superior to ours, has con- 
cluded that the bell is no longer necessary, and 
have removed it. The Faculty have no fault 
to find with this arrangement at all, and I sim- 
ply give notice now that recitations will com- 
mence promptly at the hour, and that hereafter 



60 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

the members of the Faculty will only wait for 
the students two minutes, instead of five min- 
utes as heretofore. That is all, young gentle- 
men, you can now go to your recitations." 
The next night the bell was returned, and again 
properly hung upon the post, and never was 
disturbed thereafter. 

Dr. Tappan was a high bred gentleman and 
very exacting in the matter of all the proprie- 
ties in regard to his own conduct, and also as 
to the conduct of students in his presence. He 
always insisted that a student should take off 
his hat, when he was addressing a professor. 
A new comer not well up in the ways of the 
world, failed to take off his hat when he ad- 
dressed the Doctor one morning in the chapel. 
The Doctor looked at him rather sternly, and 
said, "Excuse me a moment," and reached 
for his own hat, placed it on his head and then 
said to the young gentleman, ' i Now we are on 
equal footing. If you please, sir, what can I 
do for you ? " The unsophisticated freshman 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 6l 

took the hint at once, and amid the laughter 
of the other boys, removed his hat and received 
a lesson in good manners that he probably never 
forgot. 

Dr. Tappan was a brave and enthusiastic 
patriot. He loved our country and our gov- 
ernment, with an earnest enthusiasm that never 
flagged. On Friday, April 12, 1861, they fired 
on Fort Sumpter. The Fort capitualated on 
the next Saturday, and on the next Sunday was 
to be evacuated. The announcement came by 
telegraph. On that Sunday morning in a very 
impressive manner, the Doctor announced that 
Fort Sumpter had been fired on, that a great 
civil war was impending, and that the north 
must be aroused to defend and save the gov- 
ernment. He announced that he would ad- 
dress the citizens of Ann Arbor at three o'clock 
in the afternoon, on the Court House square. 
The boys hastily constructed a rude platform 
of dry-goods boxes on the south side of the 
square, Dr. Tappan, a little before three 



62 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

o'clock, came down from the university, with 
the old chapel Bible under his arm. The 
Court House square was packed with people 
from the city and the surrounding country, and 
the entire Court House square and the street 
space around the square was filled with people. 
There was no formality about the matter. Dr. 
Tappan got upon the platform, read some 
rousing chapters from the Bible, and com- 
menced his address. You could distinctly hear 
every word that he said in the fartherest part 
of the square. People listened intently, for all 
felt that great events were approaching. Dr. 
Tappan spoke for about two hours, and it was 
one of the grandest, most patriotic and pro- 
found speeches that I ever listened to. From 
recollection, I will endeavor to give a meagre 
idea of the substance of his peroration. He 
closed as follows: 

"The God of our forefathers still lives. 
The same God that guided them in the untold 
ages of the past, will guide us in the untold 
ages of the future. God created this earth for 
the abode of virtue, justice, liberty and truth. 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 63 

If vice, falsehood, injustice and slavery are to 
prevail among the nations of this earth, then 
God has made a serious blunder; but God 
never makes mistakes, never blunders. Re- 
member your forefathers; their unbending vir- 
tue, their sterling love of truth, their undying 
devotion to liberty, emulate their common 
senses in action; their perseverance, their cour- 
age, their devotion. And if you forget all else, 
remember, I beseech you, their love and devo- 
tion to, and their undying faith in, the 
goodness and power of Almighty God. Good 
friends reach up, each one of you reach up, 
and grasp firmly the strong right hand of the 
Almighty, cling to it as the drowning mariner 
clings to the life raft, and when the long and 
bloody struggle is over, this grand Nation will 
be saved to freedom, and live long to bless our 
common humanity." 

The next Monday after the above address, 
Dr. Tappan spoke very earnestly to the stu- 
dents assembled in the chapel, in regard to 
their duties in the coming conflict. He pro- 
phesied that the contest would be long and 



64 STORIES^AND AMUSING^INCIDENTS OF|THE 

severe, and that the North had already delayed 
too long in preparing for it. He informed the 
boys that he had engaged Joseph H. Vance, 
the present librarian of the Law library, to act 
as drill master, to prepare the students to 
properly act their part in the coming conflict. 
He informed us that he had set apart the room 
on the first floor at the south end of the south 
wing of the main building, for a drill room; 
that Mr. Vance had agreed to commence the 
work at once, and advised the students to 
divide themselves into sections of fifty, each 
section to drill one hour each day. They were 
to be arranged alphabetically and begin with 
the senior class. The first fifty were to drill 
from eight to nine A. m. , and so on each hour 
during the day, closing at six p. m. , with an 
intermission of an hour at noon for dinner. 

As soon as chapel exercises closed, the first 
division of the class of '61, marched over to 
the drill room and took their first lesson in 
military manoeuvers. Those of us who were 
not engaged in recitations, gathered around 
the room to see the big fellows put through 






y. of m. 1895. 





U. OF M. l8oS. 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 65 

the drill. Mr. Vance arranged them in a row 
across the room, stood facing them, then 
started with the order, " About, face," after 
showing them how this should be done, and he 
kept them at it for a full hour. At the word, 
about, their right foot would be turned so as 
to stand perpendicular to the left; at the word, 
face, they would turn around so as to face in 
the opposite direction, and at the end of the 
hour the big fellows got so they could turn with 
a good deal of regularity and precision. The 
next hour Mr. Vance took the next division, 
and so on worked through the day, and this 
was kept up until they had finished all the 
manoeuvers that could be learned in the drill 
room. 

Mr. Vance then formed companies and 
regiments. One regiment was called the 
"Tappan Guards," the other, I think, was 
called the <<U. of M. Guards," and the two 
together, " The University Battalion," and all 
day long when the weather permitted, the boys 
were drilling on the campus, and learning mili- 
tary movements and manoeuvers. They used 



66 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

canes for guns and swords, and enjoyed the 
exercise as much as the boys do now the gym- 
nasium and the ball games. From early in 
the morning until late at night, you could see 
companies and regiments marching and coun- 
termarching, and you could hear the orders, 
form four ranks, right face; without doubling 
right face; head of column right; head of col- 
umn left; column right wheel guide left; col- 
umn left wheel guide right, and so on. This 
drill continued during the remainder of that 
college year, and most of the time during the 
year after, and many brave soldiers and able 
officers entered the Union army from this drill 
room, and did valiant service in maintaining 
our Government in the late Civil War. 

The higher officers in our army were always 
anxious to get students for soldiers and officers. 
It did not take long for them to learn that 
bummers, such as pugilists, street brawlers and 
the like, do not make good soldiers. The 
noted New York Bummer Regiment, consist- 
ing entirely of the brawlers and fighting bum- 
mers of that great city, was an utter failure, 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 67 

-and had to be disbanded within a very few 
months, after they had reached the army. It 
was very soon demonstrated that the best edu- 
cated, the most moral and the most intelligent 
men, in a word, the brightest, best educated 
and cleanest men, make the best soldiers. 
The people also learned the important lesson, 
that indifference to, and toleration of great 
National evils, is the sure road to self-destruc- 
tion. The overwhelming power of united 
thought and action was demonstrated as never 
before. The men of the North thought that 
the rebellion must be put down and the Gov- 
ernment preserved; and followed the thought 
with united and action, and the rebellion was 
put down. The men of the North at last 
unitedly thought that the slave must be free, 
and almost before the thought was uttered, his 
shackles fell off. And last, but not least, we 
learned the great and important lesson, impor- 
tant now and in all times, that if man is lifted 
up and elevated, if society and our civilization 
is raised to a higher and purer plane of thought 
and action, the work must be done in the main 



68 STORIES AND AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE 

by man himself, and largely by the educated 
men of pure lives, and of noble character and. 
aspirations. 



„h™ ARY of congress 



028 344 689 A 



: ! 



